views - Saint Viator High School

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T Tom Nall
F E A T U R E
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Interview by Ben Paolelli
What in the school has changed in the time you’ve been
here?
TN: In the early days, it’s simple—girls. Technology, that’s
a big thing. I think a lot of it hasn’t. Why we’re here hasn’t.
The purpose in us being here (educating Catholic young
men and women) is still here. A lot of people ask me how
I “teach today, [the students] are all lazy and slackers.” I
haven’t found that to be true at all. I don’t think the nature
of kids has changed at all. The environment has changed,
and that of course has had an effect on the young people.
By and large, I don’t think the kids have changed that much.
That makes it easier because if I remember what it was like
when I was in high school, I think it helps me when dealing
with you kids. One of the comments I use a lot with the kids
when I give them a second chance or a third chance, I’ll ask
them, “Why do you think I’m giving you a second chance?”
and they’ll either say “Because you like me?” Well yeah I do.
But I always tell them “Because there was someone there to
give me a second chance.” So some of the mistakes that kids
make today, we’ve gotta be careful not to make too much
out of those mistakes. Didn’t we make many of those same
mistakes when we were in high school? The nature of kids
hasn’t changed too much.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in
life?
TN: Do the next right thing. I’m no different from you guys.
Whenever I don’t do the next right thing, I get in trouble. As
the hobos say, “Stay on track.”
DECEMBER 2011
FEATURES
You’re known for a specific style of teaching. Where did
that come from?
TN: If you had a videotape of me early in my teaching career,
you would have seen something very different. I was the
traditional teacher [who would] come in with my notes that I
had prepared, stand behind the podium, and lecture from those
notes. And every once in a while the students would lead me
away from my notes and the podium, and we would just wing
it. I’d do that for a couple minutes, and they liked it. It kind
of planted a seed in my mind that they [liked] it better when
I wasn’t behind the podium. And then as a teacher, I gained
experience [and] confidence that I could do more of this. It
came from the kids’ response. When I look at you, I can always
see what’s working and what’s not. It’s in your eyes, [all] over
your face—it’s either a smile or a bored look. With experience,
I gained confidence with what I now call stream of consciousness.
I come in now to class with my idiot sheet, I’ve got my
outline, and this is where I plan to go, but if the students take
me somewhere else, I think that’s great.
Where else have you taught?
TN: [I] started teaching grade school PE at St. Ignatius. I took
my first high school job in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Then I came
back to Chicago, and spent several great years at St. Rita High
School. And then I got out of education for a year and then came
back and I’ve been in the Viator community since 1984, [the first
three years at Sacred Heart of Mary and I came here with the
merger in 1987]. In those years, I was the Athletic Director; I
was the AD at SHHS and here, but once I got out of coaching
(and I coached for 17 years), I wanted to return to what I got
into education for and that was to be in the classroom. I actually
didn’t want to be an administrator, I wanted the classroom.
What is your favorite historical time period?
TN: The late 19th Century America, because it’s got the Civil
War, the Old West, and those are two periods of history I enjoy.
What is the most important lesson you try to teach your
students?
TN: Definitely critical thinking. I honestly believe that there’s
genius in each and every kid that sits in front of me. Psychologists
tell us that we operate at 25% of our capability. So if I can
get you to operate at 80% of your ability, then you become a
genius. [I] don’t know if the students always believe that. [I] try
to give them the confidence that they have genius within them.
They have to find it; they have to bring it out. [You] have a lot
more ideas in your head than you think you do. So I try to ask
a lot of questions in class, and by asking those questions, I’m
bringing out ideas and knowledge that’s in your head. The trick
is trying to get the kid to ask those questions, because you don’t
want me running around with you for the rest of your life. You
can leave freshman year with a greater awareness of how great
you can be, and how to bring that out. Don’t be afraid to express
your creativity.
Saint Viator High School
Photo by Chris Santucci
www.saintviator.com